Let Us Go Together
Even if dogs bark, the train keeps moving, and even if you wring the neck of a rooster, the dawn will come.
No matter how loudly the North clamors, the fact that slavery is justice does not change.
Bolstered by such fervent Southern support, Breckinridge began to realize his policies step by step.
The Republican leadership also began to notice something strange.
They weren't so oblivious that they couldn't see Breckinridge's "economic revitalization" measures were strangely skewed to benefit only the South.
"The President is finally showing his true colors!"
"The damage from the panic is concentrated in the North, yet he wants to split the aid fifty-fifty? Just say you want to push the South!"
Of course, Breckinridge had his own excuses.
"Balanced national development is the President's natural duty. Just as the Southern economy needs the Northern economy to survive, the Northern economy needs the Southern economy. And isn't cotton export a vital source of revenue for our Union? It is merely a technical measure to strengthen export competitiveness; I find it hard to understand why that is such a problem."
It was a shameless excuse, a shallow fabrication that the naive might just accept as plausible.
Of course, the Republicans' suspicions did not fade, and as time passed, those suspicions began to turn into certainty.
"The War Department... is relocating weapons inventory to Southern warehouses?"
"They call it 'standardization of safety stock.' They say they are moving some of the Springfield Armory's supplies to Fayetteville."
"Are they insane? In this political climate, they’re handing weapons over to the South?"
Wave B. It was a promised sequence.
Natchez, the office of the President of Sett Cotton.
I tore open the letter from Lincoln that had arrived for the first time since the horse racing summit.
The content was as expected.
I chuckled and put the letter down.
I don't know what "Saint James" is supposed to mean, but it’s certainly a good sign that the Republican leadership has started to trust me.
Every piece is falling into place, and the day of the promise is surely approaching.
A significant number of Americans still likely view this as an extension of the usual WWE-style political theater, but at least those who have heard my future knowledge—disguised as analysis—realized that was not the case.
The Republicans will now be convinced of Breckinridge's hypocrisy and enter a state of alert, and the South, regardless of that, will not stop its runaway train, determined to pay any price to protect slavery.
That means it is time to start everything.
I was nervous, but not afraid.
From the day I swore to live as James Sett until now, everything I have done was for this very moment.
Leo, following James Sett's instructions, called all the hundreds of slaves to the massive training ground installed recently.
Of course, such a full assembly was never common, as it only happened when delivering truly important information.
Even the most recent full assembly was just to announce that the Sett Plantation would be reborn as Sett Cotton.
Everyone stood there, swallowing dry saliva with a mix of curiosity and tension.
But this time, it was even stranger than then.
Even during the Sett Cotton announcement, core personnel like Leo or Ben knew the facts in advance.
But today, even Leo hadn't heard a word.
"What, you really don't know either?"
"I told you, I don't. He just said he had something important to say, but I haven't heard what it is."
In fact, just a moment ago, Ben and Henry had approached him and cautiously asked what it was about, but Leo could only shrug and answer that he didn't know.
But there was no anxiety.
The over a thousand people gathered here, including Leo himself, were ready to willingly follow whatever the Master said.
Whatever it was, they were just waiting for his command to fall.
And finally, the Master, James Sett, appeared on the platform.
He looked around at the faces packed before him without a word.
Everyone he made eye contact with straightened their backs without realizing it.
"It has been quite some time since the Sett Plantation changed into Sett Cotton. Is everyone getting used to it?"
"Yes!"
A booming answer erupted the moment he finished speaking.
This wasn't empty talk; it was sincere.
It was as if they felt they had become something significant, something indispensable to this place, rather than just simple farmhands.
There was no way they couldn't like it.
The Master grinned.
"I wasn't planning on changing it even if you said no, but I'm glad to hear you're all doing well."
At the light joke, Leo and a few others burst into a chuckle, and the atmosphere visibly loosened.
Seeing the calm smiles on their faces, James finally brought up the main point.
"I called you all here today... to tell you the most important fact of your lives."
Perhaps he had loosened the atmosphere a little on purpose to say something like this.
A strange tension settled over the open field once again.
"Many of you must have wondered why a farm that was running just fine suddenly turned into a company, why strange titles were created, and why we do complicated things like mock ledgers."
He paused for a moment and looked up at the sky.
"That is because this country is scheduled to face a radical change soon."
"......"
"I will tell you clearly without beating around the bush. A war will break out in the not-too-distant future."
Leo closed his eyes tightly.
Yes. What was to come is finally coming.
The era of great upheaval that the Master had vaguely warned about someday.
A shiver ran through his entire body at the premonition that it had finally arrived right before their eyes.
James had probably called them all together to ask them not to be shaken even if a war actually broke out.
But the very next moment, a bombshell declaration that even exceeded Leo's expectations popped out of the Master's mouth.
"And in that war, the South will be defeated."
There wasn't even a murmur.
Everyone held their breath.
"That means when the war ends, slavery will be abolished. Naturally, it means all of you here will be freed from the shackles of being slaves."
With their mouths agape, no one could say a word.
Freedom. Liberation.
Because their own Master, of all people, was publicly speaking the word that was a sin even to imagine.
James pointed to a slave from a farm that had been incorporated relatively recently, standing in the front row.
"You there, was your name Lee? How do you feel hearing that you will be freed from your slave status when the war ends?"
The pointed-at slave blinked in confusion and stammered.
"I... I... don't... know."
"Don't know, huh... Then next, Mick. You tell me."
Mick, as a slave from Cedar Grove known to be quite clever, managed to squeeze out an answer despite stammering.
"Master... if we become free... then will we live like Will did in Boston?"
50 cents. Starvation. Assault.
Everyone knew about Will's experience in Boston from hearing his story.
But unexpectedly, the Master shook his head.
"How could that be?"
Just as they were about to be relieved, thinking it wouldn't be like Boston, his voice turned as cold as ice.
"Do you think Southern white people will treat you as well as the Boston Yankees?"
"...Yes?"
"Boston gave Will 50 cents a day. But to the Southern Dixies, what will you be once you are no longer 'someone's property'? You will just be beings that anyone can beat up or harass whenever they're bored, and no one will take your side."
The Master's words struck like a dagger.
"You think there will be a trial? A death sentence is easily handed down to a black man who hits a white man, but do you believe a judge will ever find a white man who hits a black man guilty?"
Until now, the slaves of the Sett Plantation, though slaves, were James's assets, so they were free from the insults or violence of others.
But does this mean that protective shield is all disappearing?
Henry asked in a trembling voice.
"Master! Then can't we refuse liberation and remain your slaves?"
"That will no longer be a matter you can decide. And if you are satisfied with that status, you will have no choice but to remain exactly as you are forever."
It meant that even if they escaped slavery, they would have to endure being treated like dirt, but they had to walk that path.
"But if you endure and withstand the contempt and persecution that will pour down on you in the future, your sons and your grandsons will be able to receive slightly better treatment than now."
He looked around at everyone's faces slowly.
Eyes filled with resentment, and more resentment.
An unfair fate where they were just born this way and had to live their whole lives in contempt and scorn.
"I understand. You were born as slaves and lived your whole lives, so if you are suddenly told you are liberated, only to be stoned by people saying, 'Where does a nigger think he's going, acting like a citizen,' you'd go crazy with resentment. But!"
His voice grew louder.
"No matter how much you scream at the sky in resentment and bitterness, this country will not comfort you. No matter how dirty and shitty it is, as long as you were born black, you have no choice but to grit your teeth and endure it."
A solemn silence settled coldly over the grim reality.
Even so, Leo believed that James wasn't bringing this up to make them despair.
As he believed, the Master presented a path calmly with his unwavering voice, as always.
"But that is the story of your compatriots who will live out there in the outside world."
"......?"
"...Yes?"
"What was that?"
For a moment, Leo almost shouted out of frustration.
No, it's not your story.
Isn't it an obvious fact if you think about it for a second? Because they would become employees of Sett Cotton, not ordinary black people.
"What don't you understand? Isn't it obvious? You are different."
As it had been all along, the Master's promise followed that even if all black people were liberated, they would be able to live a different life.
"I cannot give you the right to vote. But I can guarantee you more wages, more free time, and a better life than the factory workers in the North or the South."
And firmly, he declared a rule that would never be broken.
"If there is any white man who assaults or harasses you without reason, I will mobilize all the power and lawyers I have to ruin that bastard's life. And while I cannot guarantee it for your grandchildren, I will at least guarantee a workplace where your children can work!"
He looked far away, at the small graveyard newly established on the hill.
It was one of the sunniest spots on this plantation, where Mark was sleeping.
"But none of this is given for free. It is something you must win."
"...Win?"
"When war breaks out, there will inevitably be times when you have to pick up a gun. You may have to move as I direct, attack someone, and shed blood.
Some of you here might end up buried next to Mark. Or you might have to live with wounds that can never be healed for the rest of your lives."
It was something they had been prepared for. Because James smuggling military weapons and training every adult male on the plantation like a reservist couldn't have been just for defense.
"But at the end of that dark and long road, the dawn will surely come. Let us walk toward that dawn together with me. Let us move forward together, risking our lives. Then I will bestow upon you the brilliant dawn that will rise after that dawn."
Leo was about to open his mouth immediately, but someone else had broken the silence before him.
It was Will, the man of 50 cents, a slave known to everyone in the nation.
"We will walk together!"
He walked in front of the platform and knelt down.
"Now and in the future, I will follow the Master!"
His shout became a catalyst.
"I will follow you too!"
"I will do anything!"
"I am not even afraid of death!"
Over a thousand voices rang out as one.
The Master smiled satisfactorily and turned back to Leo.
Leo stepped forward.
He looked the Master straight in the eye and spoke for everyone's feelings.
"Master. It is already too late. Even if you try to kick us out, we will never leave Sett Cotton now."
Honestly, this wasn't their fault.
If you lead them this far and show them a dream, isn't it the duty of a guardian to take responsibility?
"If you tell us to leave, we will cling to your feet and hold on until the end. So please take responsibility for us until we die!"
Yeah, even if I die, I'm not leaving here.
James chuckled as if he had no choice and squeezed the hands he had placed on Leo and Will's shoulders tightly.
There was no need to even hear an answer.
If a storm blows as the Master predicted, many things will be broken and much blood will flow.
But the black wave that will flow proudly nonetheless will pierce through this storm and finally welcome the new dawn that will rise.
Together with their King, whom they have chosen for themselves.